Several months back my friends and I rented a condo on the beach for a week. The first day, one friend made her way to the ocean and found a perfect spot, laid out her towel under the shade of a beach umbrella, and settled in comfortably.

Not 10 minutes later the owner of the beach umbrella approached and requested the $20 rental fee. A little surprised, already settled in and somewhat unsure how she might have missed the sign, my friend fished out some cash and enjoyed her spot in the shade for a few hours.

This is an example of a bait and switch, a marketing tactic I hate, and while a $20 beach umbrella isn’t expensive, in some cases the cost is in the thousands of dollars and massive time and energy. Here’s how it shows up in marketing and why I hate this tactic so much… Continue Reading ￫